Ah yes...I remember it well

I thought I would share a funny email that I recently received with my Tool Heads. I try to share a little motivation at the beginning of the week so I figured a little humor heading into the weekend might be in order.

A MEMO TO THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD:

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. You know the stories about way back when they were growing up... what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that . . . I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!

Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!

There were no MP3' s or Napsters! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and the tape would come undone.

That's how we rolled, dig?

We didn't have fancy crap like "call waiting"! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it! There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOD !!! Think of the horror.

Then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. You kids have no idea how annoying you are.

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation or Wii video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel! NO REMOTES!!!

There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!

And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or before!

Regards,

The Over 30 Crowd

Keep building relationships...solving problems...and having fun!

Monday Morning Match - How Do You Spell Overwhelmed?

How do you spell "overwhelmed"?

Is it just me or can this business called real estate sometimes really overwhelm you? Between the "no standard schedule" schedule and the "need it yesterday" pace, it's no wonder that Happy Hour on Friday can't come soon enough.




Whenever I talk about time management and life balance in my classes, I always seem to hear some snickers and sighs from the audience. Most people seem to operate from a reactionary or defensive position instead of being "on offense" or in control.



Three P's for Pain in your Day



If you want to continue to feel overwhelmed, disorganized and always that "step behind," here are three P's (definitions courtesy of FreeDictionary.com) to have in your toolbox:

• Petulance - Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered
• Procrastination - To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness
• Pessimism - tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible view

Just reading those words might cause some reaction in your head or heart. Does your procrastination cause you to exhibit a petulant attitude? When you get overwhelmed, doesn't it seem easier to allow those negative feeling to creep into your mind?

Four P's for Pleasure in Your Day

Starting today, make the choice to look at your job (or life) a bit differently. Eliminate those feelings of being overwhelmed by focusing on these 4 P's for pleasure in your day:

• Plan
• Prioritize
• Perform
• Play

It's simple to see, isn't it?



Plan what you need to do each day, maybe even before you leave the office the night before. Write down those tasks, big or little, that you think need to get done in the next work day. This should be everything that comes into your mind. Some people try to create their "to do" list before they head home each night, creating a symbolistic chasm between work time and personal time. Others keep a list in their Day Planner, Outlook or smart phone and it becomes a working document each night. Who among us hasn't had one more thing we need to do pop into our heads before bed?



Prioritize your list of tasks before you do anything at the beginning of the day...even before you check your email, voice mail or Facebook page. Ask yourself which of the activities or tasks written on your list will most directly result in achievement of one of your goals? For most of you in real estate there should be two things that receive the highest priority - Appointments and Closings.

Every task or activity should pass the following test before taking it's final spot in your "to do" list; "Will doing this get me closer to a closing or appointment with a potential client?"



If yes, it needs a high priority. If no, it should move lower on the list.



Now you need to perform the top priority items on your list and make every effort to complete them before starting another task or "to do" item. Develop the discipline to stick with a task until it's completion.



If you can plan, prioritize and perform each day, you should have time to play. Define that as you wish but it might mean spend time with family, enjoy a round of golf, go for a run, enjoy friends or charity work or anything that might be fun for you.



As you look at the upcoming week, what will you focus on? The three P's of Pain or the 4 P's of Pleasure?

The Power of Making Contact with Your Clients

This morning I received an email from one of our top agents in central Ohio. Patrick Guanciale is an active member of his community, his local Chamber of Commerce and is always focused on providing his clients with "truly remarkable service."

Patrick shared this link to his local Chamber of Commerce blog and while the message isn't about Realtors, it is one we can all learn from. It was posted by Licking County Chamber President Cheri Hottinger and it's message needs to be read and internalized in today's service-hungry world. You can visit the blog here

Our clients should hear from us more often, not just when we need something from them such as a referral or a listing extension. Remember, it's not their "job" to contact you. That's part of the service you promised them at the beginning of your relationship.

Thanks for the important reminder Patrick and the referral of the great blog post.

Community pride - Part II?

Earlier this year, I wrote about the importance of a Realtor selling the area in order to be seen as a local expert. Having a combination of character and competence, a knowledgeable Realtor will immediately earn the public's trust.

In the viral world of of today, using creativity, local knowledge, a video camera and some editing ability, we now have some "turf wars" starting over in Virginia to "sell the area." Check out these funny videos (embedded below) that are a direct response to the Arlington (VA): The Rap video.

First up is Richmond...



And an answer from the Fairfax, Virginia community



What can you take from these videos, besides a little humor? Ask yourself if you're thinking differently to attract attention in today's market. Are you being creative? Thinking beyond your title? Willing to put yourself out there in the spotlight?

Not every effort will will result in the "viral" spreading of your message like these two videos (70,000+ views for each) but you can get people talking by talking about your community.

Let me know what you have done to be the community resource for your clients and customers.


Until next time, keep building relationships...solving problems...and having fun.

Monday Morning Match - What Will They Say About You?

What Will They Say About You?

Are you striving to be a star or are you satisfied just being "in the play"? Some people want to be the leading man or leading lady while others are just as content to see their name in the program or scrolling in the credits at the end.

Our success isn't as much about what happens to us on the big stage as it's about what happens to us each day on our way to that big stage. Emmitt Smith didn't become the NFL's all-time leading rusher in one game. Nope. He gained those 18, 355 yards one yard at a time.

What's your work ethic going to be today? How about this week? There are less than 100 days in the year. Come to think of it, there are less than 100 days left in this DECADE!!! What are you waiting for? What needs to be done now to help elevate you to the levels of success you deserve?

Watch this video and ask yourself what they will be saying about you?



I hope you have an awesome week!